In Istanbul, the Ukraine women’s national team played to a 1:1 draw against Turkiye in the first match of the EURO 2025 qualifying play-off.

Head coach of the Ukraine women’s team, Volodymyr Pyatenko, shared with the UAF official website what prevented his team from securing a win:

“Both halves were very different. In the first, my players fully executed our game plan — we maintained possession, played creatively on the flanks, and excelled at second balls. Importantly, we managed to turn our territorial advantage into a goal.

It’s possible that the girls started believing too early that they could win without too much effort. In the second half, we lacked concentration and proper backup, which allowed the hosts to equalize. There were more half-chances, but neither team capitalized on them. It’s disappointing we couldn’t hold onto the lead, but we’ll move forward from here.

The good news is that we avoided any serious injuries and expect all key players to be available for the return match in Chisinau on October 29.

Today, we’re traveling from Istanbul to Chisinau, where we have an evening training session at the Zimbru Stadium.”